The Appropriations Committee’s proposed budget would allow students who currently attend existing high-quality charter schools to stay at their schools of choice, but the Committee’s decision to cut funding proposed by the Governor for two already approved charter schools denies access to hundreds of children who hope to attend them.

When compared to Governor Malloy’s budget proposal, the Appropriations Committee budget reduces funding for Charter Schools, Magnet Schools, Talent Development, as well as School Accountability. The Committee’s proposal includes increased funding for a subset of towns via the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Grant and increases funding for Priority School District grants and Early Childhood Education. The Committee also increased Bilingual Education funding by $3.3 million over the biennium.

“The budget cuts proposed by the Appropriations Committee would shut children out of high-quality school options. These are cuts we can’t afford to make with the largest achievement gap in the country, nearly 4,000 families on waiting lists for charter schools, and nearly 40,000 children attending schools where they are not learning to read or do math at grade level. We urge the Governor and legislative leaders to prioritize children’s futures by restoring the Governor’s proposed funding for high-quality options and giving students the great schools and world-class educational experiences they need and deserve.” – Jennifer Alexander, ConnCAN CEO